Turtle Tails
by writeonblueeyes517
Summary: Four curious turtle brothers. One rat father and sensei. And the entire sewer network of New York as their home. What could possibly go wrong? One shots based on my own personal headcanons. R&R! Young! Turtles one shots.
1. Asthma

Leo is Asthmatic.

"Slow down Raphie!" his brothers yelled in unison.

"You guys need to speed up!" Raph complained, stopping in order to face his three brothers who were much further behind.

He stopped his foot in impatience as the three other turtles began to get closer, Donnie leading the group.

"Next...time…you need…to wait…for us!" Donnie said, in between deep breaths.

"Whatever!" the green-eyed turtle muttered, crossing his arms.

"Dude! That was…so much…work!" Mikey cried trying to steady his breathing like Donnie had done.

"Where's Leo?" Raph asked when the oldest turtle hadn't appeared yet.

"He was right behind us. Maybe he's a little more tired than us?" Donnie surmised, looking down the sewer in an attempt to see if there was any sign of his older brother.

"Tired? He never stops training! How can he be tired?" Raph asked, his voice rising in pitch as he spoke.

The other two boys shrugged their shoulders, not really having an answer aside from that.

"Leo? You comin'?" Mikey called down the sewer.

All three brothers listened, waiting for their other brother's voice to echo through the giant pipes.

There was no answer.

"Leo?" Donnie tried, beginning to walk back down the way that they had come.

Mikey and Raph soon began to follow their genius brother, calling out Leo's name as they went.

"Leo!" Donnie called out as he rounded a corner.

Donnie gasped at what he saw.

His big brother was kneeling on the ground, clutching his plastron with his one hand, the other bracing himself against the concrete floor.

"Leo! What's wrong?" Donnie asked, kneeling down by his brother's side.

"Can't…..breathe," Leo whispered hoarsely, his words coming out extremely rapid. His eyes were shut tight, his teeth clenched as pain coursed through him.

"Mikey! Go get Master Splinter!" Donnie ordered his little brother.

Mikey swallowed, but nodded and ran off towards the lair all the same.

"What's wrong with him? Why won't he get up?" Raph demanded, fear rising with his voice.

"I don't know!" Donnie replied, scared at seeing his oldest brother's condition.

"Leo, where's the pain?" Donnie asked, his hands ready to feel any spit his brother indicated.

"My…lungs," Leo responded weakly.

"What does the pain feel like?"

"Fire,"

The word came out airily, barely heard by the other two turtles.

"…and it was so scary!" Mikey's voice could be heard as he came around the corner with Splinter. It sounded like the six-year-old had been crying.

As soon as the sensei saw his eldest son, he ran as fast as he could, Michelangelo in his arms.

"Leonardo! My son," the martial arts master said, dropping to his knees.

Leo looked up into his father's face, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"Sen…sei," Leo whispered, barely able to get the word out. "My….lungs….hurt,"

"Do not speak my son," he ordered him softly. He gently picked up his son, clutching him to his chest.

"Raphael, bring Michelangelo back to the lair. Donatello, come with me," he told his other three sons.

"Raphie," Mikey said barely above a whisper.

"What Mikey?" Raph asked his youngest brother.

"I'm scared,"

Raph looked down at his brother, his bright blue eyes red from crying and his cheeks stained with tears.

"It's ok Mikey. Leo's tough," he told him, wrapping an arm around the shorter turtle's shoulders.

"He's ok?"

"Leo will always be ok,"

"How do you know?" Mikey asked, sniffing.

"Cuz he's our big brother. And he loves us," raph said.

"Like Splinter?"

Raph nodded.

"I wanna see Leo," Mikey muttered softly, rubbing his arm self consciously.

Raph nodded again. "Let's go home,"

Raph and Mikey walked into the lair and passed the door to the dojo just as Donnie and Splinter were figuring out what was wrong with Leo.

Splinter was performing what looked like a healing technique on the turtle as he was lying down on the floor. He repeated his mantra several times, a whit light surrounding his hands and Leo's body as he spoke.

"Leo!" Mikey cried, trying to run to his big brother but Raph held him back.

"No! Leo!" Mikey yelled, his tears beginning to fall again at the sight before him.

"It's ok Mikey. He's gonna be ok," Raph reassured his baby brother, hugging him tightly.

"It's ok,"

He said it the third time more so to convince himself that it was truth instead of comfort his little brother.

He wanted to run to his big brother and wrap his arms around him, never wanting to let go; but he couldn't. He needed to be here with his little brother right now.

And he would do that.

Leo lay still, his plastron rising and falling with every breath he took.

They had been in there for almost two hours, figuring out what had gone so wrong.

Mikey had fallen asleep, curled up next to Raph as he watched the doorway to the dojo.

Splinter walked out of the dojo after what seemed like forever, his eyes showing signs of exhaustion.

"You may go see Leonardo if you wish," he told his two sons, smiling wearily at them.

Raph suddenly smiled back at hearing the news.

"Mikey," he said, shaking his brother's shoulder slightly.

"Mmm. No, I don't need big glasses," he muttered in his sleep.

"Mikey!" Raph tried again, a little louder.

"Hmmm? What? Did I win?" he asked sleepily, rubbing his blue eyes.

"No. Better. We get to see Leo,"

"Leo?" Mikey questioned, the words his brother said beginning to click in his head.

"Leo!" Mikey jumped off the couch and ran towards the dojo, his little legs carrying him as fast as he could go.

"Leo!" he said happily at the sight of his older brother sitting up and awake.

"Hey Mikey," Leo replied a little hoarsely, smiling at his youngest brother.

"You scared me!" he said, tears coming to his eyes again.

"I'm ok now Mikey; but I was scared too," Leo said.

"You were scared?" Mikey asked, looking up at his big brother in awe.

Leo nodded. "Yep,"

"You get scared?"

"We all get scared Mikey. Things that scare you, don't scare me, and things that scare Raph, don't scare you,"

"Like bugs?" Mikey asked.

"Like bugs," Leo affirmed.

"I'm happy you're ok!" Mikey exclaimed, hugging his brother tightly, nuzzling into his plastron.

"I'm happy too!" Leo said, smiling at his family.

"What was wrong?" Raph asked, the concern not as severe as earlier.

"Donnie said I have Asthma," Leo explained, both his brothers giving him confused expressions.

"I don't breath right. It's hard to breath when I run a lot or train too much," Leo explained his brothers letting out exclamations that let everyone know they now understood.

"So, he's not a ninja anymore?" Mikey asked Splinter, turning to the sensei

Splinter shook his head.

"No. Leonardo will still be a ninja and will train just like the rest of you,"

"I just gotta be safer with what I do. If I'm not, it might start again. So I gotta be safe with what I do and how much I run,"

"Can it go away?" Mikey asked.

Leo shook his head, his smile dying down slightly.

"No. It stays with me forever. It's in me," Leo said, pointing to his plastron covered chest.

"Get out of my brother, you freaky as-whatever!" Raph screamed at Leo's plastron.

"It doesn't work like that, Raph," Donnie told him.

"It's ok. I just gotta be good with my Asthma," Leo told them.

"You look really calm about this," Raph noticed, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"It helps me see how far I can go. Helps test me," Leo said proudly.

"You're happy about a test? You're as bad as Donnie!" Raph said, pointing towards his younger brother.

"It lets me know how much I can take; and Splinter said that if I work hard, I can make it better! That makes me happy!" Leo exclaimed excitedly.

"I'm happy you're ok!" Mikey said, hugging his brother again.

"Me too!" Raph told him, joining his two brothers.

"Hey! I wanna join too!" Donnie complained, walking away from his station to join his family.

Splinter smiled at them, kneeling down to embrace his for boys in his arms.

That was, until Leo said, "I can't breathe!"


	2. ADHD

Mikey has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)

"Mikey! Sit still!" Raph ordered his little brother, his temper growing.

"But I can't Raphie!" the six-year-old claimed, bouncing from one three-toed foot to the other.

"Yes you can Mikey. We need to practice our balance, and you can't properly do that if you don't stand still. Besides, the sooner we finish this introductory exercise, Sensei will allow me to get back to my 'Studies of the Psychological and Nano Technology of the 21st Century'," Donnie informed his brother, trying his best not to fall over.

"Huh?" the other three turtles asked in unison.

Donnie sighed and rolled his eyes.

"My book. When we're done. I can finish my book,"

"Oh!" they replied again in synch.

"Boys!" Splinter said, drawing the attention of the four turtles to himself.

"Yes Sensei?" they asked together.

Sometimes it scared him how well they could speak at the same time.

"Practice your balance," he told them.

"Yes Sensei,"

Splinter noticed that the only positive sounding voice of his sons was Leonardo's. The other three seemed quite disappointed that they had to continue.

He was satisfied however when he saw that all four of them seemed to actually be practicing their balance.

He returned to his meditation, pleased that his son's were behaving properly.

"Mikey!" Raph said through gritted teeth.

Well, that didn't last long.

"What is wrong Raphael?" Sensei asked his green-eyed son, rising from his sitting position on the floor.

"Mikey poked me! He poked me when I was trying to balance, and knocked me over!" Raph exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Raphael, you must get your temper under control. As for you Michelangelo," the words died on his tongue as soon as he laid eyes on his youngest son.

"I-I didn't mean to!" Mikey cried, tears beginning to form in his light blue eyes.

"Didn't mean to! You did!" Raph yelled at him.

"Raphael. That is enough. You have practiced enough for today my sons. We will begin again tomorrow," Splinter informed his sons, all four of them bowing.

"Hai Sensei,"

Splinter noticed that Michelangelo didn't speak.

Splinter kept a close eye on his youngest son over the following weeks, watching his habits, his feelings, and his reactions towards his brothers as well as himself. He seemed like his typical Michelangelo self, always eager to discover something new, willing to practice with Leonardo, and pressing every button that he could find within his reach.

However, he did seem different as well.

He would think about things that he did with his brothers before he actually did them, he hesitated more, and he didn't talk incessantly like he did every waking moment.

Then the biggest change occurred almost three weeks after the first day that they had practiced their balancing.

"What?!" Leo exclaimed, shock clearly written across his face, the rubber ball fall out of his hands.

"What do you mean you don't wanna play dodge ball? You love dodge ball!" Donnie said, his arms flailing around for emphasis.

"I just don't wanna play," Mikey muttered, wrapping his arms around himself.

"Oh brother! Is this about that monster story that I told you again? For the last time Mikey, there is no mutant squid that roams the sewers! Now will you come play with us!" Raph asked, exasperated with his little brother's irrational fears.

"No," Mikey said under his breath.

"What? Oh come on Mik,"

"I said no!" Mikey yelled, interrupting his brother as his hands balled into fists at his side. His eyes were dangerously angry.

"Michelangelo,"

Mikey's eyes widened when he heard his name spoken by the one person he feared more than any creature Raph made up in his horror stories. He turned, facing the rat and looked up into his face.

"Y-yes Sensei?" he asked weakly.

"May I speak with you?" he asked politely.

Mikey hung his head sadly, simply nodding.

"Ooooh! Someone's in trouble!" Donnie teased quietly, hoping that it would lighten the mood.

"You got that right!" Raph agreed with him.

"Donatello, Raphael!" Splinter said angrily, whirling around to face his two middle sons with a swish of his robes. "I will speak with the two of you later," he told them, his eyes not wavering from their forms.

Donnie visibly gulped while Raph's green eyes grew wide.

Splinter lead Michelangelo out of the room, the young turtle's head still hanging low. He sat down, motioning to his young son that he could do the same.

Michelangelo reluctantly followed suit, fear still permeating his entire being making him look uncomfortable in his own home.

"You are nervous," Splinter told him, suddenly breaking the silence.

"Huh?" Mikey asked, caught off guard by his father speaking.

"There is no need to be fearful my son. I am not angry with you,"

"You're not? But I'm bad!"

"You are not bad Michelangelo. You are simply adventurous and curious,"

"But you hafta be mad! I got mad at Donnie!" Michelangelo said, the tears forming in the corners of his baby blue eyes.

"I'm not upset with you,"

"But I'm not like Donnie or Raph or Leo!" he cried, his tears beginning to fall.

"Michelangelo, you do not have to be like your brothers,"

"B-but I wanna b-be like th-them! I-I d-don't wanna b-be like me!" Mikey cried, rubbing the tears away from his cheeks.

"But you are not like them my son. You are special. You are different,"

"I don't wanna be special!" Mikey screamed, sobbing into his hands.

Splinter's heart broke upon seeing his son so broken about this. He pulled the young turtle into his lap, stroking the back of his shell in a comforting manner. He continued to do this until the six-year-old's crying had died down until he had almost finished.

"Feel better?" Splinter asked his son, looking down at him.

"A little," Mikey muttered, wiping his eyes.

"Michelangelo, do you understand why you do the things you do?" Splinter asked his son, his voice serious as he changed the subject.

Mikey shook his head, his eyes large and saddened as he looked at his father.

"You have a special condition,"

"Like Leo?" Mikey asked, perking up at the mention of his oldest brother.

"Not exactly my son. You have something different. This is why you have trouble sitting still and are so full of energy,"

"And why Raph gets mad?" the turtle asked.

Splinter nodded.

"Yes my son. But while you will have to do your best to sit still more and be patient, Raphael will have to learn to control his temper. Do not think of this as a problem my son, see this as untapped potential that you will be able to use to your advantage; and we will try to convince Raphael of the same, alright?"

"Alright. Thanks Sensei!" Mikey said, wrapping his little arms around his father's neck.

"Anytime my son," Splinter replied, returning his son's embrace.

Mikey bounded out of the room, once again happy and satisfied, that is, until he remembered that he had no idea what this "special condition" that he had was called.

"Sensei?" he turned back towards his father.

"Yes Michelangelo,"

"Leo has Asthma. What's my specialness called?" he asked.

"I believe it is too much for you to say the entire thing, so let's just call it ADHD," splinter told him.

"ADHD?" Mikey asked as if he was testing out the phrase on his tongue.

"That's fun to say! Thanks Sensei!" and the young turtle proceeded to bound out of the room, pleased that he had something just like Leo had something.

Splinter smiled until his youngest son was out of sight, and then a frown settled into his facial features.

"Oh my son. If only I could spare you from the pain that you will suffer because of this. I will do everything I can to make sure you will never have any cause to be ashamed of who you are,"


End file.
